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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Quote It Saturday 4/17

Busy weekend here. Craig had a school dance last night (his first-ever semi-formal!), both boys had soccer games this morning, and Jamie has two Sweet Sixteen parties to attend, one tonight and another tomorrow. Both boys are trying to pace themselves and hoping to survive all these activities without crashing. So far, so good. Craig was pretty wiped out this morning, after his dance last night, but has already rebounded. Ken has coached two soccer games and is chauffering the boys to their other activities.

As for me, I'm still suffering in allergy land, although I did make it to the soccer games today. I've been desperately trying various treatments, and I may have found one that helps. I've been on Allegra every day for many years, so I decided to try Zyrtec today (it's now over-the-counter). I tried it years ago (pre-CFS) and it made me drowsy, but I've been feeling so completely crashed from these allergies I thought, "So what if it does make me drowsy? Would I even notice?" And, guess what? I think it might be helping a little, along with strategic doses of Sudafed in between nap and bedtime.

So, anyway, it is time once again for Quote It Saturday, featuring a quote from a book I've read. Today's quote is actually from a teen novel I recently read, Where Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten. As often occurs, the topic is not chronic illness, but one character's thoughts about a different sort of life-changing trauma rang true for me. Here, the main character, Ellie, is talking about her sister's mysterious disappearance two years ago:

There are some things a person just never gets over, that the phrase "get over" doesn't really apply to. And when one of those things happens in your life, it doesn't matter how much time has passed, or if you're sitting alone in your room or at a party surrounded by a hundred people, and it doesn't matter if you're actually thinking about it or not because no matter where you are or what you're doing, it's still there. It's not just something that happened. It's become a part of you.
- Where Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

Isn't that just like living with CFS? Even on a good day when you're feeling pretty good, even at an important event that you are well enough to attend, even in the midst of a happy moment, it is always there, a part of you. By the way, it was an excellent book.

9 comments:

Hi Sue sorry to read about your allergy problems,my youngest suffers from asthma but again the doctors will not officially diagnose it because of her age!!I was over on your blog on books and funny enough commented on this book,and the extract from it fits very well with cfs even though we are very new to it,if it is cfs with my daughter,she has I guess for a long time just plodded on!Hope the allergy eases off a bit for you,beckyx

Hi Sue. Guess who? :-> I too suffer from crazy allergy symptoms, but you may remember I hate taking meds other than sporadically. I am too concerned about the effects they will have on my liver, kidneys, heart... but I take Allegra occasionally. THEN, a few months ago I heard Dr. Weil recommend freeze-dried stinging nettles, found the capsules at the "healthy" store, tried them, and didn't they work! Now I am nagging my teens to take them... wish me luck with that! After the first week I went from taking them two or three times a day, to once a day.

I have a suggestion for the allergies if you aren't opposed to an herbal remedy. I have horrible allergies here that end up in full blown migraines. Since I started this product, I have just had a tickle in my throat and some light coughing in the a.m. I think I need to add another pill at night and then I won't have the coughing in the a.m. either. Anyway, this is the best I have ever been here in Tulsa.

The name of the product is New Chapter (I am falling in love with their product line). The product is "Sinus Take Care".

I hope it does the trick for you.

BTW, you can buy it on iHerb for about 5-10 dollars less than Whole Foods sells it.

I have had Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) since March 2002. Both of my sons also got ME/CFS at ages 6 and 10. Our younger son fully recovered after 10 years of mild illness. Our older son still has ME/CFS and also has Lyme disease plus two other tick infections. This blog is about how our family lives with chronic illness, with a focus on living and enjoying our lives in spite of these challenges.

About Me

I'm a freelance writer who loves to read and cook. My husband and I have two sons, and we all enjoy travel and being outdoors. My older son and I both have chronic illnesses, but we focus on finding joy in every day!